VISION, PURPOSE & OBJECTIVES
The vision and purpose of the The Capital Incendiary Authority are rooted in the vibrant ethos of the Burning Man Project, aiming to bring the Ten Principles through meaningful public engagement. At its core, the The Capital Incendiary Authority seeks to inspire creativity and self-expression by fostering the creation of original art, music, and literature within its membership and the broader Burning Man community. Central to this mission is the annual Winter Solstice Burn fundraiser, designed to be inclusive, accepting, and safe while embodying the values of radical inclusion, self-reliance, and communal effort. This event, along with other related gatherings, serves as a platform for promoting identity, participation, and understanding, creating spaces where individuals can freely express themselves and connect with others in a spirit of collaboration and mutual respect.
Beyond events, The Capital Incendiary Authority is committed to nurturing artistic innovation by funding and supporting art projects in Canberra, ensuring the city’s cultural landscape continues to thrive. It actively engages the Burner community, inviting them to contribute to and benefit from its initiatives. Through workshops, training activities, and volunteer programs, The Capital Incendiary Authority empowers individuals to take an active role in burner culture, fostering a sense of ownership and shared purpose. Additionally, it champions environmentally sustainable practices, ensuring that its activities align with principles of ecological responsibility. By organizing community-based fundraising events and supporting creative endeavors, The Capital Incendiary Authority not only advances its goals but also strengthens the bonds of community, leaving a lasting impact on both its members and the wider world.
Burning Man co-founder Larry Harvey wrote the 10 Principles in 2004 as guidelines for the newly-formed Regional Network. They were crafted not as a dictate of how people should be and act, but as a reflection of the community’s ethos and culture as it had organically developed since the event’s inception.
THE 10 PRINCIPLES OF BURNING MAN
RADICAL INCLUSION
Anyone may be a part of Burning Man. We welcome and respect the stranger. No prerequisites exist for participation in our community.
GIFTING
Burning Man is devoted to acts of gift giving. The value of a gift is unconditional. Gifting does not contemplate a return or an exchange for something of equal value.
DECOMMODIFICATION
In order to preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising. We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation. We resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience.
RADICAL SELF-EXPRESSION
Radical self-expression arises from the unique gifts of the individual. No one other than the individual or a collaborating group can determine its content. It is offered as a gift to others. In this spirit, the giver should respect the rights and liberties of the recipient.
RADICAL SELF-RELIANCE
Burning Man encourages the individual to discover, exercise and rely on their inner resources.
COMMUNAL EFFORT
Our community values creative cooperation and collaboration. We strive to produce, promote and protect social networks, public spaces, works of art, and methods of communication that support such interaction.
CIVIL RESPONSIBILITY
We value civil society. Community members who organize events should assume responsibility for public welfare and endeavor to communicate civic responsibilities to participants. They must also assume responsibility for conducting events in accordance with local, state and federal laws.
LEAVING NO TRACE
Our community respects the environment. We are committed to leaving no physical trace of our activities wherever we gather. We clean up after ourselves and endeavor, whenever possible, to leave such places in a better state than when we found them.
PARTICIPATION
Our community is committed to a radically participatory ethic. We believe that transformative change, whether in the individual or in society, can occur only through the medium of deeply personal participation. We achieve being through doing. Everyone is invited to work. Everyone is invited to play. We make the world real through actions that open the heart.
IMMEDIACY
Immediate experience is, in many ways, the most important touchstone of value in our culture. We seek to overcome barriers that stand between us and a recognition of our inner selves, the reality of those around us, participation in society, and contact with a natural world exceeding human powers. No idea can substitute for this experience.
We acknowledge the Ngambri and Ngunnawal peoples – the Traditional Custodians of the land, waters and territories on which we will gather – and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty of this territory has never been ceded. It always was and always will be, Aboriginal land. We extend that respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across this land, as well as the merit and contributions of First Nations people everywhere.
THE CAPITAL INCENDIARY AUTHORITY 